I have been wanting to NAIL a great sweet potato fry for years and these Whole30 Crispy Sweet Potato Fries are IT. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. My boys took a bite and quickly proclaimed them as good as restaurant fries. 

Why We Love These Whole30 Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

First, we love that they are Whole30, Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, and egg-free. It’s so nice when one simple dish can meet a variety of allergies and dietary needs. 

Second, they are EASY. The hardest thing you will have to do is cut your sweet potatoes. See the section below for tips on that! Once cut, fries are soaked, tossed, and baked or air fried. 

Third, I love that these can be made in the oven or air fryer. Though you could pan fry them like my Breaded Potato Wedges to get them crispy, these crisp up really well in the oven and air fryer as well. Oven or air frying means less mess and less hands-on work.

Finally, the texture of these Whole30 Crispy Sweet Potato Fries are SPOT ON. Sweet potatoes are really dense so it can take some skill to get them crispy on the outside, without burning, and tender inside. You will love the texture of these fries!

How to Cut a Sweet Potato

Let’s talk about it – sweet potatoes can be a pain to cut. They are super dense and have a coarse texture that can make them tricky. Here are a few tips that work well for me.

1. First, I don’t peel my sweet potatoes. You can if it really matters to you. But I love the nutrients in the skin and it’s just not worth the time it takes to peel.
2. Second, make sure you are using a sharp knife. You can get your knives professionally sharpened. I never get around to that, so I have a knife sharpener like this one. Or, if you don’t have that, you can carefully sharpen your knife on the bottom of a ceramic mug.  
3. Third, cut off the ends of the sweet potato. Sweet potato ends are usually pointed. Cutting them off allows you to stand the sweet potato up on it’s end and cut it, which is way easier than cutting it laying down horizontally.
4. Stand them up on their end and use your body weight to cut them in half long-wise. Then, cut them into about 1/2″ slices.
5. Then, lay the slice down flat and cut it into 1/2″ fries. Try to get the fries as close to the same size + width as possible. This will help the fries cook at the same rate and not have some of them burned, some not quite done.

Ingredients

• Sweet potatoes – When I say sweet potatoes, I mean the orange-fleshed potato. Some people will incorrectly call these “yams.” Read here to learn the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. 
• Olive oil – We toss the cut sweet potatoes with oil to coat. You can also use avocado oil. We don’t use a lot of oil, to make sure the fries aren’t soggy with oil on the pan. If there’s too much oil, the extra moisture on the pan will make the fries take longer to cook and get crispy. 
• Potato, tapioca, or arrowroot starch – Any of these flours or starches will work equally well in this recipe for creating a little bit of breading texture on the outside of the fry for a crispier result. Keep in mind, these 3 flours are not always interchangeable. Learn more about Paleo Flours here. 
• Salt – Just regular table salt here. 

Why Soak the Fries?

You are going to feel like the extra rinsing/soaking steps aren’t worth it. I get it, I thought so too, but I am *converted* to how important this is to getting a CRISPY fry! My sons work at a popular burger chain in California called In-N-Out. And what do you know? They soak their fries!

Here’s the science why. Soaking in water draws out the starch, making them more rigid and able to get crispy! You can soak them for at least 30 minutes, though overnight yields fantastic results. But equally important is to DRY the fries really well. You can do this just between two towls or with a salad spinner. Interesting note: In-N-Out spins their fries dry!

Instructions to Make Whole30 Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

• Soak the cut fries in a large bowl of cold water for at least 10 minutes, up to overnight. Longer soak time can help increase the crispiness of the fry, but even just 10 minutes makes a big difference.
• If using the oven, preheat it to 425 degrees, with the pan inside the cold oven. This is optional, but starting with a hot pan will help the fries get crispy faster. 
• Dry the fries. “A dry fry is a crispy fry!” You can do this just between two clean towels. Or, I have a salad spinner and spin my fries dry in that, which works great. 
• In a large bowl, toss the fries with oil. This might take a little stirring to get them all coated, but try not to add any extra oil. If there’s too much oil, the extra moisture on the pan will make the fries take longer to cook and get crispy. 
• Toss the fries with the starch and salt. 
• OVEN: Remove hot pan from oven and line with parchment. Spread coated fries on parchment in a single layer, trying to get the fries spread apart as much as possible. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, Flip, then bake for another 15-20 minutes or until crispy.
• AIR FRYER: In the air fryer, cook at 350 for 15 minutes, stir or toss, and then for 10 minutes or until crispy. Watch closely so they don’t burn, as every air fryer is a little different. 

How We Serve Them

We love these fries dipped in all our favorite sauces! Here are a few of our favorite budget-friendly and kid-approved sauces that are all Whole30 + Paleo:

• Copycat Raising Cane’s Sauce
• Copycat Chick-fil-A Sauce
• Whole30 “Honey” Mustard
• Homemade Ranch
• Homemade BBQ Sauce

Whole30 Crispy Sweet Potato Fries

Autumn @wholefoodfor7

The perfect sweet potato fry that is oven-baked or air fried but still crispy on the outside and tender on the inside!

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 55 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Calories 137 kcal

1/2x1x2x3x

Ingredients

 

• 2 large orange-fleshed sweet potato about 1.5 pounds; cut into thin 1/2" fries
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil
• 1/4 cup arrowroot or potato starch
• 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

 

• Soak the cut fries in a large bowl of cold water for at least 10 minutes, up to overnight. Longer soak time can help increase the crispiness of the fry, but even just 10 minutes makes a big difference.
• If using the oven, preheat it to 425 degrees, with the pan inside the cold oven. This is optional, but starting with a hot pan will help the fries get crispy faster. 
• Dry the fries. "A dry fry is a crispy fry!" You can do this just between two clean towels. Or, I have a salad spinner and spin my fries dry in that, which works great. 
• In a large bowl, toss the fries with oil. This might take a little stirring to get them all coated, but try not to add any extra oil. If there's too much oil, the extra moisture on the pan will make the fries take longer to cook and get crispy. 
• Toss the fries with the starch and salt. 
• OVEN: Remove hot pan from oven and line with parchment. Spread coated fries on parchment in a single layer, trying to get the fries spread apart as much as possible. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, Flip, then bake for another 15-20 minutes or until crispy.
• AIR FRYER: In the air fryer, cook at 350 for 15 minutes, stir or toss, and then for 10 minutes or until crispy. Watch closely so they don't burn, as every air fryer is a little different. 

Notes

See blog post above for details on ingredients, why you need to soak the fries, and our favorite dipping sauces!

Nutrition

Calories: 137kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 450mgPotassium: 383mgFiber: 4gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 16088IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 36mgIron: 1mg

Keyword budget-friendly, dairy-free, easy, egg-free, gluten-free, kid-friendly, nut-free, paleo, vegan, whole30

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